Dispenser with flow restricting valve



May 31, 1949. R. G. BAU

DISPENSER WITH FLOW RESTR ICTING VALVE Filed July 19, 1947 2Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. Qaaazr oepozv 5 40 May 31, 1949.

R. G. BAU

DISPENSER WITH FLOW RESTRICTING VALVE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 19,1847 h a A 5 INVENTOR. Eoaaer (zaepou 5/10 for Dispenser.

ii-r led May 19, 1945, for iiDispenser. havin a seal between the openend of a flexible bag and a cup-shaped top, also a check valve PatentedMay 31, 1949 ZA'ZhtSZ UNITED STATES ATEINT oFFicE DISPENSERWITH FL'OWRESTRICTIN'G VALV E Robert Gordon Bau, NorthHollywood, Calif.

Application July 19, 1947, Serial No. 762N 19 -3 Claims.

The invention relates to a dispenser for face cream 'or similar cosmeticor viscous material wherein a casing is provided with :a "removableicartridge 'havin a ii'exibie bag, a spring pressed jiplungerbeingprovided in .exerit pressure on the bag, and the casing having avalve operator to icomntol the discharge iof the bag con-tents.

.An object of the invention is to simplify and improve the constructiontof the dispenser disclosed and claimed :in the afollowing cases which-disclose and -eclaim several features disclosed h erein The design"covered .by Design Patent No. (140,111,1pater1ted-January"23, 1-945,rfor Dispenser for cosmetic creams.

application-'8. I55'5; l5 1, tiled 'S'eptemb'er 25, 1944, The doubl'evalve 'for controlling 'theoutlet is covered by applications. N.594,672, A cartridge control for the-bag therefor are covered byapplication s. N. 65293585, filed November "19, 1-945, for

Dispenser.

More particularly, an object'of the invention is toimproVe the manner ofsubjecting the bag toor beingautomatioally brought 'into play againstthe flexible bag'in the course of securingthetop of the on the bo'ttomof th'ecasing. In'the example shown, the casing parts arehe-ld togetherby'a screw thread and the'operations previously described areaccomplished "without relative roitation between the spring *pressedplunger and the bag while the casingparts are being coupled 'oruncoupled.

The above object is accomplished by automa'tioall y retracting the'spring pressed plunger into the bottom of the ca-sing away from theflexible bag while "the casing top is being unscrewed. whereby there isno pressure *of the sprin pressed plunger on the bag at the time tb'atti'esh cartridge =is inserted in the "casing,

th plunger being advanced towarcls and *iully acting on :the bag in'thecourse *of fastening the 'topdn ipia'ce. Aocording to another featureinvention, QIBIRl'iiVG FOtatlOH between the 'oi .flexible bag and springpressed plunger iispreven ted rcluring \the itime "that the casing partsare relatively rotated :to secure themtoget'herlor :ta'ke athem apart,by ealising :the plunger :and *the :bag itontotate asaunit duringtthat'tim'e.

The valve control of a spring loaded removable :cartridge is covered bythreads "4.

According 'to a further feature 'of the invention, an improvedcheck-valve is provided for the neck of the cartridge, with animprovedva-lve operator which [ireiferably iemhodi'es also an additionalmetering valve, themeterin'g valve and the valve operator on the casingbeing brought into roperative relation with'th'encheck valve on thecartridge when the cartridge "is assembled :in the casing. FACGOl'dil'Igto this lfeature, the neck of the cartridge provides a seat for themetering valve :and when the operator is actuated, the metering valve is:moved toward :closed position "as the check valve :is moved towardlopen position to graduate the flowand. finallyreduce-the flow to zero,which not only :controls the "flow of ifluid material but also stops itin the extreme position-of thevalve operator to prevent :an :undueamount of fluid from being iexpelled.

For further idetailsxif the invention, reference may he made i130 thedrawings wherein Fig.1 is a front view in 'elevation of a dispenseraccording to the present invention.

:Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view .on line .2-2 lot-Fig.11, Hooking inthe direction of the arrows, the :cartridge beinillustrated as full of face :cream or the like, the valve operator beinginelevated position.

Fig. 3 :is an enlarged partialsectional view with :parts broken away,showing the ycheck valve in open position, the valve ibeing in actuatedposition.

Fig. a4 is :a sectional view corresponding to Fig. .2 with thebag'empty.

Fig. 5 is a perspectiveview of .the cartridge and its flexible bag.

Figadis aiperspective view of a rotatable cage showninithe'precedingifigures "for spring pressed plunger.

Fig. 7 isiassectionalwiew on llne llrof Fig.4, looking in the directionof the lZWI'OWS- altig. 8 is an .explodedperspedtiveview of a porltionvo'f the vailve operator and the top of the casing.

Fig. i9is a perspective view of the check valve I support for thecartridge.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the dis penser :oomprisesia casinhaving a top? and a bott'om :3 secured together :by elongated screw Thefluid contents are expelled "through an outlet 89 in the casing top,under control ofeaireciprocating valve :openator 5. The casing 2, tnia'ybe made of plastic or other suitable maternal, and have shapes suitablefor cast ziifl'g or molding.

The fluid contents such as face cream are contained :in a cartridge :6i'ShOWIl in Fig. 5. The cartridge =6 has a ridge soup-shaped "top 1which rotatably fits in the corresponding cup-shaped concave bore 81initheicasingtop 2. The cartridge top 1 has an :annular shoulder 19 "whichifits a corresponding shoulder I8 in the bore 8. Arising from theshoulder 9 is a conical neck II which fits in the conical bore I2 in thetop 2. The conical portion I terminates in a flat annular surface I3,the outer portion of which rests against a gasket I4 around thecylindrical bore I5 in the casing top 2. Extending across the inside ofneck II is a spider in the form of a disk I6 of plastic seated in andcemented to an annular groove I at the inner portion of neck II. Thespider I 6 is also shown in Fig. 9, and it has a series of portsindicated at I8 to permit the fluid contents of the cartridge 6 toissue. Arising from the center of spider I6 is a post I9 which serves asa guide for the hollow stem 20 on a check valve 2|. Valve 2| opensinwardly of the cartridge 6 and it has a seat 22 facing inwardly of thecartridge and arranged on the inner side of the end of neck I I. Theseat 22 surrounds a port 23 through which the fluid issues.

Secured to the bottom of the cartridge top 7 is the open end 26 of aflexible bag 25. The end 26 of the bag terminates as indicated at 2| inFig. 2, between two telescoping parts, namely, the outer end 28 of thecartridge top I, and a ring 29 having external screw threads 38. Thering 3|] is of plastic and cemented to the plastic top I to form a jointwhich extends beyond the end 26 of the bag as indicated at 95, toprevent leakage past the end of the bag.

The bag 25 has substantially the same capacity as the cup-shaped top I.When the bag 25 is full as shown in Fig. 2, the capacity of thecartridge 6 is equal to the sum of the capacities of the bag 25 and thetop 1, the bag at this time as shown in Fig. 2, extending outwardly fromthe joint between the open end 26 of the bag and the parts 28 and 29.When the bag 25 is empty as shown in Fig. 4, its side 98 fits theconcave side 9| of top I and its flat bottom 32 fits against the innersurface of the spider I6, being held or fitted against it by a springpressed plunger 3| which has a convex contour fitting the convex contourof the cartridge top I, and a fiat bottom 19. At this time, with bag 25empty as shown in Fig. 4, the bottom 32 of the bag extends across and issandwiched between the inner side of spider H5 and plunger bottom I9 toexpel all the bag contents.

The outer surface of spider I6 has an annular ridge 38 to support theend of a spring 34 coiled in the shape of a cone and its outer andsmaller end engages a recess 35 in the valve 2| to urge it to closedposition.

Assuming for the moment that the cartridge 6 is in the casing 2, 3 asshown in Figs. 2 and 3, the flow of fluid from the cartridge iscontrolled as follows. As shown in Fig. 8, the outer end of the casingtop 2 has an annular recess 36 in which is a'cylindrical bearing 31having a bore 38 to slidingly support the stem 39 of the valve operator5. The stem 39 has a cylindrical portion 48 which slidingly fits in thebore 36 and it has an inner cylindrical sleeve 4| inside of which aretwo oppositely disposed longitudinally extending ribs 42, 43. If theoperator 5 is turned so that the ribs 42, 43 match with the shortrecesses 44, 45 on the bearing 31, the operator 5 cannot be pushed in tooperate the check valve 2|. If the operator 5 is rotated a quarter turnin either direction, the ribs 42, 43 will slide in the extended grooves46, 4! in the surface of the bearing 31, to operate valve 2|.

In assembling the operator 5 on the top 2,

the stem 39 is inserted in the bore 38 and then as shown in Fig. 4, thecylindrical cup-shaped valve 48 is mounted on the reduced end 49 of thestem 39, a leaf spring 58 is mounted on stem 49 against the underside ofthe cup and a disk retainer 5| is mounted on the outer end of the stem49 and cemented thereto, these parts being of plastic.

The disk 5| is concentric with the valve stem 26 and pushes valve 2|open against the action of spring 34 when the operator 5 is pushedinwardly. When the operator 5 is released, it is moved to its elevatedposition shown in Fig. 4, by the valve stem 20, valve 2| being urged toits closed position both by fluid pressure in the bag 25, when it hasfluid contents as shown in Fig. 2, and by spring 34 whether the bag hasfluid contents or not.

The valve 48 restricts the flow from the bag 25 to the outlet 2 by anincreasing amount as the operator 5 is pushed inwardly and at the limitof its inward movement the valve 48 fits on the flat outer end I3 of theneck as shown in Fig. 3, to surround the port 23 and cut off the flow tothe outlet 89, the check valve 2| being fully opened at this time. Theridge 33 may serve as a stop to limit the opening movement of valve 2|as shown in Fig. 3. The operator may, of course, be pushed in into anintermediate position to obtain a desired fiow at the outlet 83.

The cartridge 6 is assembled in the casing bottom 3 by engaging thethreads 36 of the cartridge with the internal threads 68' in the annularcollar 6| of a cage 62, see Fig. 6, cage 62 is rotatably mounted in thecasing bottom 3 and for this purpose the bottom 63 of the cage 62 has aspindle 64 which rotatably fits in a bore 65 in the base 66 of thecasing bottom 3. The outer end of bore 65 is enlarged as shown at 6! torotatably receive a washer 68 secured to the spindle 64 by a bolt 69.The bottom 63 of the cage extends outwardly beyond the inner end of bore65 as indicated at I6 and is provided with a washer II. The cage 62 has,depending from the collar 6|, a cylindrical ski-rt I2 which is slightlysmaller in diameter than the bore of the bottom 3 which has an elongatedscrew thread I3. The thread 13 is double lead and. a multiple such asfive times the pitch of the threads 4 and is reverse with respect tothreads The collar 6| has peripheral spaced grooves as indicated at I5,six such grooves being shown, and the casing top 2 has cast integraltherewith a corresponding set of six internal ribs indicated at I6 inFig. 7, fitting the grooves i5, to rotate the cage 62 with its plunger3| and the cartridge 6 with its bag 25 as a unit as the casing top 2 isrotated. The bottom 63 of the cage 62 has an inwardly extending boss IIto center one end of a coiled compression spring I8 which bears at itsother end against the plunger 3|. As shown in Fig. 2, plunger 3| isinverted cupshaped and the spring I8 bears against the flat bottom I9 ofthe plunger and the latter bears against the fiat bottom 32 of the bag.The rim 8| of the plunger has four outwardly extending lugs such asindicated 82, these lugs 82 each riding in one of the four slotsindicated at B3 equally spaced around and extending lengthwise of thesleeve I2. These slots 83 are each open at their lower end as indicatedat 84 so as to permit the four lugs like 85 to pass upwardly of thesleeve I2 to a position where the lugs 82 on the plunger can be passedunderneath them, by passing the plunger 3| into the open end 88 of thesleeve, when these parts are assembled. Each of the four lugs 85 slidein one of the slots 83, and these lugs are on a retainer ring 86 havingexternal screw threads 91 which mesh with the thread 13. The upperposition of the plunger 3! is therefore determined by the position ofthe ring 86, unless that position is determined by the amount of fluidcontents in the bag 25.

Assuming that the casing top 2 is removed, with no cartridge in place, acartridge is inserted by engaging the threads like 38, see Fig. 5, onthe cartridge with the threads 68, see Fig. 6, on the collar 6| of theplunger cage 62. During this time of handling the cartridge 6, ifpressure is applied to the bag 25 by hand, the contents do not leak outas such pressure and spring 16 keep the check valve 2| closed. Then thetop 2 is placed on the bottom 3 and it is oriented so that the ribs '16on the top 2 will engage in the slots like on the cage 62. Suchengagement, as the top 2 is rotated, causes the ring 86 to advance inthe opposite direction, namely, upwardly, at five times the speed, inthe example given, from its lowermost position on threads 13 to itsuppermost position shown in Fig. 2. Between ring 86 and the underside ofcollar 6| is arranged a gasket 8'! to insure that ring 86 at itsuppermost position will remain in threaded engagement with threads 13.With ring 86 at its uppermost position, it no longer restrains theupward movement of the plunger 3| under action of spring 18, the upwardmovement of plunger 3| proceeding until the fluid contents in the bagare compressed by an amount determined by the strength of the spring 18,to thereby put the fluid contents in bag 25 under pressure so that suchcontents will be ejected from outlet 39 when the valve operator 5 ispushed inwardly. The reverse action takes place when the casing top 2 isunscrewed, namely, its rotation causes top 2 to move outwardlyrelatively to the casing bottom 3 while the rotation of cage 62 due toengagement of rib 16 with slots 15 causes ring 86 to move in theopposite direction, a distance five times as great as the length ofscrew threads 4, whereby lugs 85 engage lugs 82 and hold the plunger 3iadjacent the base 66, with spring 18 compressed, whereby the pressure ofspring 18 does not have to be overcome when a fresh cartridge isinserted.

Behind valve 48 is a cushion chamber :92 at the inlet end of outlet 89,Fig. 3. The face cream passes into chamber 92 from the cartridge duringdownward movement of operator 5 while both valves 21, 48 are open. Thepurpose of this is to make the face cream in chamber 92 serve as acushion to delay the closing of valve 2| and prolong discharge fromoutlet 89 when operator 5 is released, as otherwise very little facecream would be expelled if valve 2| both opened and closed quickly.

The thread 13 is relieved at its upper end as shown at 93 so that ring86 will run off the upper end of thread 13 when the casing top 2 isscrewed in place on bottom 3. At this time, elastic gasket 81 iscompressed as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 to press the thread leads 9! onring 86 in contact with the thread leads at the upper end of threads 13.This prevents stripping threads 13, 91 if ring 86 were to reach itsuppermost position before the casing parts 2, 3 were screwed together.This mischance might be due to surreptitious manual rotation of ring 86before it proper rotation by coupling the casing parts together.

For a similar reason, the lower end of thread 13 is relieved as shown at94, whereby, if ring 86 reaches its lowermost position before the casingparts are uncoupled, ring 86 freely rotates off the thread 13 but in endto end engagement therewith, ready to lift ring 86 at the proper time.Preferably the casing thread 4 is 10% greater in effective length thanthread 13, to insure that ring 86 will reach the limit of both itsupward and downward stroke adjacent the relieved portions 93, 94.

While Fig. 2 illustrates the condition for the spring 18, unrestrainedby lugs 85, acting on a full cartridge, if ring 86 were imagined lowereduntil its lugs engaged 82, this figure would also substantially show thelowermost position of the plunger 31 with the casing top 2 removed,although the lowermost position of plunger may be slightly lower thanthat illustrated and in that position the bottom 32 of the bag mayeither be free from or lightly rest on the end 19 of the plunger.

When the top 2 is screwed on to or unscrewed from the bottom 3, relativerotation between the bottom 19 of the plunger and the flexible bag 25 isprevented, as these parts rotate together and with the plunger cage 62.

Various modifications may be made in the invention without departingfrom the spirit of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A dispenser comprising a casing having an outlet, a removablecartridge for said casing, an inwardly opening valve in said cartridge,a valve operator in said casing for said valve, and a second andinwardly closing valve on said operator, said cartridge having a portcontrolled by both of said valves, said outlet communicating with bothof said valves.

2. A dispenser according to claim 1, said sec-i: ond valve beingcup-shaped and seating on saidcartridge, said casing having a cushionchamber behind said second valve in communication with said outlet.

3. A dispenser comprising a casing, a cartridge fitting in said casing,an inwardly opening reciprocating valve on said cartridge and a valveoperator therefor on said casing, a bearing supporting said valveoperator for rotary and reciprocating movement, said casing and saidvalve operator having cooperating lug and recess means preventing saidvalve operator from operating said valve when said valve operator is inone rotary position while permitting said valve op: erator to operatesaid valve when in another rotary position.

ROBERT GORDON BAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 570,935 Lee Nov. 10, 18961,207,393 Gammeter Dec. 5, 1916 1,614,532 Mobley Jan. 18, 1927 1,804,235Smith May 5, 1931,

